Cold War era Modern history

the cold war began in mid-1940s , lasted 1990s. throughout period, conflict expressed through military coalitions, espionage, weapons development, invasions, propaganda, , competitive technological development. conflict included costly defense spending, massive conventional , nuclear arms race, , numerous proxy wars; 2 superpowers never fought 1 directly.

the soviet union created eastern bloc of countries occupied, annexing soviet socialist republics , maintaining others satellite states later form warsaw pact. united states , various western european countries began policy of containment of communism , forged myriad alliances end, including nato. several of these western countries coordinated efforts regarding rebuilding of western europe, including western germany, soviets opposed. in other regions of world, such latin america , southeast asia, soviet union fostered communist revolutionary movements, united states , many of allies opposed and, in cases, attempted roll . many countries prompted align nations later form either nato or warsaw pact, though other movements emerge.

the cold war saw periods of both heightened tension , relative calm. international crises arose, such berlin blockade (1948–1949), korean war (1950–1953), berlin crisis of 1961, vietnam war (1955–1975), cuban missile crisis (1962), soviet war in afghanistan (1979–1989) , nato exercises in november 1983. there periods of reduced tension both sides sought détente. direct military attacks on adversaries deterred potential mutual assured destruction using deliverable nuclear weapons.

the cold war drew close in late 1980s , 1990s. united states under president ronald reagan increased diplomatic, military, , economic pressure on soviet union, suffering severe economic stagnation. in second half of 1980s, newly appointed soviet leader mikhail gorbachev introduced perestroika , glasnost reforms. soviet union collapsed in 1991, leaving united states dominant military power, though russia retained of massive soviet nuclear arsenal.